Fossils & Flowers
Thursday 13, Texas Science & Natural History Museum
If you’re looking for a cool but nerdy way to celebrate life and love, pop into this pre-Valentine’s party offering unique fun and discovery. Beyond scoping out the museum’s fascinating exhibits and learning about prehistoric mating behavior, enjoy music in the Great Hall, a build-your-own-bouquet station, a Valentine card crafting station, and a Polaroid station, plus complimentary snacks and a cash bar. But the real pièce de résistance: the chance to name a UT Insect Collection butterfly after someone you love, or a roach after someone you don’t! – Kat McNevins
Hearts in All Conditions: Queer Poetry Night
Thursday 13, Birdhouse Books & Gifts
A little food for your soul before Valentine’s Day strikes, this little show is. Queer- and veteran-owned bookshop Birdhouse invites the literary loving out to their Burnet biblio-bastion to hear local published authors read their works aloud. After they’ve said their piece, an open-mic poetry jam follows where wordsmiths of all levels may speak their truth into the communal microphone. A suggestion from a guy who’s been to many a poetry slam? Write in a format – you know, sonnets, haikus, an acrostic, etc. – and you’ll stand out from the many, many freestyle poems native to the open-mic environment. – James Scott
Austin ISD Information Meeting
Thursday 13, AISD Headquarters
Perhaps you look on opportunities to gain information about your local school district with ambivalence. That would be a mistake. Knowing stuff about schools, even the obscure, largely incomprehensible subjects like AISD’s scorecard, its budget reduction strategies, or its efforts to fix special education services, is the mark of a … hmmm. Okay, it’s the mark of a person with strong executive function. So we at the Chronicle implore you: Do not turn away from your opportunity to gain information at the board of trustees’ monthly meetings, no matter how long they may be (three to six hours, on average). – Brant Bingamon
Dark & Lovely: An Evening of Unsettling Narrative
Thursday 13, State Theatre
Goth never goes out of style, even around Valentine’s Day. The dark-hearted are invited to join multi-Austin Music Award-winning deejay/host Laurie Gallardo for a spooky bedtime story told with more than a tinge of the macabre. To get you in the mood, Carrie Rodriguez and David Pulkingham will offer an instrumental amuse bouche before Gallardo shows you why her voice is so renowned. Come dressed to lurk in the shadows. – James Renovitch
Hamlet
Thursday 13 – Saturday 15, Texas Spirit Theater
Actors From the London Stage, a long-running touring company, is currently on the road with Hamlet, one of William Shakespeare’s most popular (and lengthiest) plays. The Danish prince’s pensiveness is still relatable to anyone who’s ever questioned the meaning of life – which is just about all of us. Though the play has been iterated on since the 17th century, the company puts a unique spin on things, touring only five actors who take on multiple roles. This minimalist approach prioritizes performance, bringing characters to life through the Bard’s language, crafting an intimate, invigorating atmosphere. – Mattea Gallaway
Meet Cute at the Bookshop
Friday 14, BookPeople
Remember last week when I mused on falling in love with a book versus a human person? (Reader, don’t tell me you haven’t been paying CLOSE attention to my every Calendar listing?!? I’ll simply sob if you say it’s so!) Well, those lovable lit mongers at BookPeople went a step further in linking the bibliological with blooming romance by organizing this peppy little Valentine’s party. Among the bookstacks you’ll find a flash tattoo pop-up from Cherry Pop Ink, a crafting station where you can write love notes to your favorite author, and special themed drinks at ye olde CoffeePeople. Take a look, Reader, because this kind of love can only be found in a Book … People, that is. – James Scott
Ventana Ballet’s Variations on a Love Theme
Friday 14 – Sunday 16, First Street Studio Theatre
Ventana’s movement-for-the-masses is already a guaranteed good time. But they up the ante during Valentine’s, teaming up with their ideological counterparts, the classical chamber music group Austin Camerata, to create an enchanting and enriching experience. A live string quartet accompanies Ventana dancers as they present eight love stories in an intimate setting. It’s immersive to the max: a mood that can’t be denied. Pre-game at their jazz lounge before the show, sipping “Love Potion” cocktails to get those romantic vibes flowing. – Cat McCarrey
Don’t Phunk With My Heart: A Valentine’s 2000s Prom
Friday 14, Little Darlin’
Was there ever a shinier, sparklier era than Y2K? Break out your body glitter and revel in the pearlescence of the Aughts at this prom soundtracked by the music of a millennial youth, spun by DJ Jester. Dress to impress for awkward prom pics where the taller person has to stand behind the shorter one and touch their hips, but don’t worry if you’re dateless, because this one’s a traffic light party as well: Guests will be sporting glow sticks indicating their level of relationship availability, and it’s open to everyone, regardless of status, sexuality, or attachment style. – Kat McNevins
Cruising
Friday 14, Hyperreal Film Club
Either you stand with the gay organizers contemporary to this William Friedkin fever dream in calling it an affront or you love watching Al Pacino sweat his way through a leather bar while stealing piss kink valor via a misplaced back-pocket hanky. Hard to imagine anyone with a middle-of-the-gay-bar opinion on this 1980 thriller, where Pacino plays a cop undercover in New York’s leather scene chasing a killer who’s been offing homosexuals. This presentation of Seventies NYC and all its sweet sweet dank as portrayed through Friedkin’s freaky film lens comes courtesy of local VCR cleaners Double Scorpio alongside your friendly neighborhood cinema sickos Hyperreal. – James Scott
Love Bites: A Buffy Valentine’s Day Birthday Party
Friday 14, The Tiny Minotaur
“Fool for Love,” “Lovers Walk,” “Passion”: There are so many great episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about romance – or, more accurately, about how our hearts really get us in the worst situations imaginable. My favorite of this trilogy is “Fool for Love,” a Spike origin story about how he became a vampire and killed two Slayers in his day, but this line from earlier episode “Lovers Walk” might be best for this Valentine’s Day/photographer Erika Rich birthday party doubleheader: “Love isn’t brains, children. It’s blood.” Pay five bucks to reminisce on all your favorite Buffy moments; karaoke and games included. – Carys Anderson
break-up with me (hannah spector)
Friday 14, shedshows
Local artist/poet Hannah Spector will go breaking your heart. Or you can break theirs. It’s up to you. These break-ups are public, but only happen with consent. It’s Spector’s own Valentine’s tradition, a thrilling piece of public art now in its fifth year and fourth evolution. Starting as marathon sessions in a controlled environment, Spector’s LARP (Live Action Role-Play) art is now a walk-up, public interaction at shedshows. Former versions have featured scripts and safe words, empty boxes and glasses of water. Beyond that, there’s freedom. Join Spector’s emotional exploration. – Cat McCarrey
Heart’s Desire
Friday 14 – Sunday 16, the Long Center
Enjoy a little cultural date with Ballet Austin for their Valentine’s show featuring three different dances sure to set your heart a blaze. These dances include multiple styles of ballet, from Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia and its contemporary interpretation of György Ligeti’s music to Stephen Mills’ Desire and its Arvo Pärt-scored pas de deux to ZigZag, Jessica Lang’s upbeat choreography designed specifically for Tony Bennett’s music. – James Scott
Boner Giallo: A Valentine’s Day Slasher
Friday 14, Come and Take It Live
Detailed in writer Miranda Garza’s Culture Spotlight column on p.14, the delights that await Dario Argento fans in this month’s offering from local erotic variety show Boner Bizarre are simply unmatched. Obviously, the Suspiria tributes will abound – red, blue, and purple color themes, maybe even a little barbed wire, yes? – but I’m awaiting some Phenomena realness. Just speculating, but could there be a little buggy burlesque in honor of Jennifer Connelly’s character’s psychic insectoid gifts? Or, better yet, there should be a monkey with a gun! As Argento said, “You must push everything to the absolute limit or else life will be boring!” – James Scott
Fences
Through March 16, Georgetown Palace Theatre
August Wilson made plays about Black lives with the deliberate purpose to show white America that the idea that their Black neighbors were impossibly different was an illusion. At the same time, his work was deeply rooted in exploring how that illusion damaged Black people, and nowhere is that more painfully clear than in Fences, the defining work of his 10-part Pittsburgh Cycle. In Troy Maxson, the big man of the neighborhood, white audiences could see the frustrations and pride of a man who made the best he could of being a garbageman, a job any of them could have. At the same time, Wilson embedded his story in the injustices of the Negro baseball leagues and racial profiling. This new production by Austin-based director Jeremy Rashad Brown promises to prove both the power of Wilson’s work and the tragedy that it’s still agonizingly relevant. – Richard Whittaker
Die Felicia
Saturday 15, Elysium
Back from the grave after host Louisianna Purchase declared the show dead as a doornail, Red River’s best goth bar once again plays venue to the Boulet Brothers’ Dragula star’s horror-themed drag showcase. This resurrection strikes the day after Valentine’s, bringing with it a whole lotta lovesick sweethearts on the lineup: Syd Prescott, Bubu, Sticky Gold, Traumada, Gator Goblin, Atlas Mars, Carlos Cantu, and special guest from Dragula season 6 Grey Matter. Whether you’ve been zombified by a V-Day breakup or remain totally spellbound by your sweetie, this’ll be a show you won’t wanna miss. – James Scott
Nunsense: The Mega Musical
Through February 23, Mary Moody Northern Theatre
Hungry for more Catholicism after watching Best Picture nominee Conclave? Or maybe you, like many, wished there was more habit hijinks than cardinal chaos in the film. Either way, you’ll be pleased to attend Dan Goggin’s story of a convent in crisis being put on under the direction of C. Patrick Gendusa at St. Edward’s University this winter. When the Little Sisters of Hoboken find their coffers empty following a “culinary disaster,” they band together for a fundraising variety show with tap dancing, comedy, an audience quiz, and special guest chef Sister Julia, Child of God. Be there or you will never be Pope! – James Scott
Trust
Saturday 15, AFS Cinema
Hal Hartley, poet laureate of working-class Long Island, never broke big like some of his contemporaries in the indie film movement of the Eighties and Nineties; his movies are too mannered, too oddball for mainstream attention. Of his early films, 1990’s Trust is arguably his most approachable – and his most romantic, if you’re attracted to total weirdos who wear their inside thoughts on the outside. (Yes, please.) Martin Donovan and Adrienne Shelley are the unlikely couple (he’s a death-obsessed computer wiz, she’s a neon-drenched high schooler), while Edie Falco has a supporting role as a divorcée smarting from life’s disappointments. Donovan – a Hartley regular – returns in follow-up Simple Men, which screens Tuesday. – Kimberley Jones
Love at First Bark
Saturday 15, BookPeople
Austin Animal Center is constantly striving toward its goal of being a no-kill shelter with positive outcomes for all the city’s animal friends, and their tireless work involves a network of essential volunteers all over the community. At this low-key meet & greet among the tomes of BookPeople, find out more about the city’s animal center and programs, meet some of their adorable adoptable pets, and learn how you can make a difference for them even if you’re not in the market for a furry family member. But who knows? Maybe you’ll meet your new best friend. – Kat McNevins
Mahabharata Tales
Saturday 15 – Sunday 23, Rollins Theater at the Long Center
Pushing past the Bard to a storied storyteller of another era altogether, Austin Shakespeare presents an original production drawn from the Mahbhrata, the epic poem drafted by Vyasa more than two millennia ago. Adapted by Austin Shakespeare Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella, this new staging dramatizes the war of succession depicted in the original Sanskrit text with dance and fight choreography and original music by Nagavalli along with improvised live music by Venkata Surampudi. Condensing the original work – about 1.8 million words in total – down to an evening’s entertainment? That’s an epic achievement in and of itself. – Kimberley Jones
Rhys Darby
Saturday 15 & Sunday 16, Cap City Comedy Club
I think about Rhys Darby a lot because certain things he said in the oddball musical comedy Flight of the Conchords stuck so firmly, like “Move over refrigerators: Here’s what’s cool.” His stand-up is just as clever and endearing as that show, enhanced with expert sound effects, zany storytelling, and fun facts. He gets jazzed about cryptids and space stuff, and writes books for kids and adults, offering witty observations with quirky and positive energy. If you’ve been feeling down at all, step right up because this is the type of show that will leave you feeling hopeful. – Kat McNevins
The Annihilation of Fish
Saturday 15 & Monday 17, AFS Cinema
The greatest tragedy of filmmaker Charles Burnett is that he’s always been ahead of his time. The second greatest tragedy is a knack of accidental self-sabotage. Yet, in a way, these two failures make his films greater. His debut film, vérité drama Killer of Sheep, was denied a real release because clearing the music rights for the loaded soundtrack was basically impossible. When it was finally released in 2007, 29 years after Burnett finished the film as his master’s thesis at the UCLA School of Film, audiences truly appreciated its bleak insight into blue-collar life in Watts. So maybe, after only 26 years of languishing in the archives, it’s time to reappraise Burnett’s unlikely meet-cute rom-com that was just too odd for 1999 audiences. Starring Lynn Redgrave and James Earl Jones as two kooky no-longer-kids, can true love triumph when she’s being stalked by the ghost of Puccini, while he must wrestle an invisible man called Hank? More importantly, is it finally time to fall in love with another of Burnett’s wildly idiosyncratic works? – Richard Whittaker
In Creative Harmony: Three Artistic Partnerships
Sunday 16, Blanton Museum of Art
The singular genius. The auteur theory. For whatever reason, we like to think art is created in a vacuum. A new Blanton exhibit poses a counterargument: that great art inspires other great art. Uniquely conceived by three different Blanton curators, emphasizing different eras and mediums, “In Creative Harmony: Three Artistic Partnerships” zeros in on Mexican printmakers José Guadalupe Posada and Artemio Rodríguez, friends and abstract artists Arshile Gorky and Isamu Noguchi, and mother-and-daughter duo Nora and Eliza Naranjo Morse, descendants of Pueblo ceramicists. Runs through July 20. – Kimberley Jones
HONK!TX Winter Fundraiser Ball
Sunday 16, 29th Street Ballroom
The local community street band’s big, free hoopla isn’t until the end of March, but the brassy crew is looking to raise some funds to make sure it’s up to their particular (and often peculiar) standards. Dress up (not formal, just let your freak flag fly) and get treated to four bands that add a healthy dose of eccentricity to their signature sounds. Kids are free, students are $5, and everyone else is on a sliding scale, but be generous to this Austin institution that makes “weird” look effortless. – James Renovitch
Austin Marathon
Sunday 16, Downtown Austin
Lace up, Austin – the city’s ultimate test of stamina and stubbornness is here. The Ascension Seton Austin Marathon turns the streets into a 26.2-mile run club, complete with cheering strangers and the occasional regret. Whether you’re gunning for a PR, power-walking for pride, or just in it for the post-race breakfast tacos, one thing’s certain: The road will be long, the vibes will be strong, and your legs will probably hate you the next day. Not chasing that running high? Drivers should probably avoid the center of the city that morning. – Lucciana Choueiry
Winter Kept Us Warm
Sunday 16, AFS Cinema
Introduced via video by formerly local queer cinema scholar and AFS programmer Elizabeth Purchell, AFS’s Queer Cinema: Lost and Found series offers Winter Kept Us Warm, a 1965 Canadian queer romance set in the University of Toronto and based on filmmaker David Secter’s own experience of falling in love with a fellow student there. It’s widely considered the first queer film out of Canada, the first English-language Canadian film to play at Cannes, and has been cited as inspiration by the likes of David Cronenberg, Michael Ondaatje, and Philip Glass in a 2005 documentary about Secter’s work. As what’s left of Austin winter sputters on, let this sweet proof that queer love has always been around keep you warm. – Lina Fisher
Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what’s happening now or in the coming week.
This article appears in February 14 • 2025.
